On my taxi ride to the border, my Congolese driver asked me how the Democratic Republic of Congo compares to America. The dichotomy struck me as absurd, but I tried to think of something polite to say.
“Well, there’s more music on the streets in Congo,” I said. He smiled. “And there’s more dancing. Definitely more dancing.”
“Ah, yes, we love to dance,” he said in a tone that convinced me if he didn’t have to drive me to the border at 10:00 am on a Saturday morning, he’d be able to find a club somewhere and strut his stuff.
“There are more motorcycles,” I said, reaching.
“And also more genocidaires,” he said.
3 responses so far ↓
Zach Younkin // August 9, 2008 at 11:20 pm |
Hello,
We recently had a team that returned from the Central African Republic.
We have a blog that I think you may find interesting as it contains first person views from the C.A.R.
Thanks,
Zach
http://dgbccarteam.wordpress.com
Dauna // August 10, 2008 at 3:47 pm |
you forgot the goats to cow ratios are very different:) Just in case asked again on next journey. Wow…I wouldn’t even say the word ‘pavement on streets’.
jessica // August 11, 2008 at 5:28 pm |
these moments are the ones that leave me feeling pretty damn discombobulated when i’m traveling…you think you’re engaged in a relatively straightforward conversation about kind of basic points of interest, convergence and differences. and then all of a sudden someone drops the the obvious and yet still startling bomb and you realize this is an entirely different kind of straightforward.